Meghan Markle’s Hollywood contacts have paved the way for a new connection with Jeff Bezos that could become ‘indispensable’ to the Duchess, a royal expert has claimed.
On Saturday, the royal, 44, and her husband Prince Harry were guests at the Amazon founder’s $165 million mansion to celebrate Kris Jenner‘s 70th birthday – and the timing of the outing was certainly intriguing.
It came just days after Meghan’s new movie role in Close Personal Friends was revealed – her return to acting after a hiatus of eight years.
The film just so happens to be produced by Amazon MGM Studios, known for some of the world’s most popular franchises, including James Bond, The Hobbit, and Creed, which Bezos purchased in 2022 for $8.5 billion.
According to royal biographer Richard Fitzwilliams, Bezos and his unparalleled influence over Hollywood could be indispensable to Meghan as she ends her self-imposed retirement, while trying to sell her As Ever lifestyle products.
‘Meghan greatly valued an invitation to Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos’s Hollywood mansion on Saturday,’ he said. ‘She has a clear interest in getting support from a tycoon like Bezos and she is aiming high as he is rated the third richest man in the world.’
The Montecito-based mother-of-two will make a cameo in the upcoming film as herself, starring alongside Lily Collins, Brie Larson, and Jack Quaid.
A source told The Sun: ‘This is a massive moment for Meghan and signifies a return to doing what she truly loves.
The Duchess of Sussex has set her sights on networking with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, royal biographer Richard Fitzwilliams has claimed (pictured: Meghan arriving at Kris Jenner’s 70th, held at Bezos’s Beverley Hill mansion, on Saturday evening)
‘She has been swamped with offers, but this one felt right.
Fitzwilliams continued: ‘Meghan will be appearing as herself in the Amazon MGM production Close Personal Friends, an announcement that came as a surprise as she had left Suits, and many thought acting eight years ago.
‘However, it may get Meghan and Harry invitations to next year’s Oscar ceremony, which would lift their profile.
‘We see so much of Meghan, that it is easy to forget how ruthlessly ambitious she actually is, reportedly she wants to be a billionaire.’
Indeed, a royal expert claimed earlier this month that the Duchess has her sights set on becoming a billionaire.
Speaking on the new Channel 5 documentary, The Meghan Effect: How She Shook Up the Royal Family, royal commentator Emily Andrews claimed: ‘I’ve been told by those close to Meghan that she wants to become a billionaire.’
‘To become a billionaire, she has to build her brand to be as big and successful as it possibly can. Jam is just the beginning.’
Despite her alleged hopes, the reality is that Meghan’s lucrative contract with Netflix, thought to be worth $100million (£74million), was ‘downgraded’ in August to a ‘first-look’ deal for film and television projects, and the couple’s relationship with Spotify was short-lived.
Kris Jenner shared an image of Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos arriving at her lavish 70th bash over the weekend
‘The current serious difficulty is that the Sussexes’ contract with Netflix, which gives them first refusal of potential projects, has been downgraded,’ Fitzwilliams said.
‘They also did remarkably little for the reported £100 million, which they originally negotiated. This is where Jeff Bezos could be indispensable, as he could open doors for her and also potentially help As Ever, which is currently supported by Netflix.’
‘There have been reports that Bezos will be backing a new luxury lingerie brand from actress Sydney Sweeney. It is this sort of opportunity that could be of enormous benefit to Meghan’s ambitions to become a billionaire influencer.
‘Her path would be so much easier if she had a billionaire backer.’
It’s thought that Sweeney is enjoying the privilege of having the Amazon CEO and his wife’s support with her career.
His company bought the rights to James Bond earlier this year for £790 million and has already announced that a new 007 film will be directed by Dune director Denis Villeneuve.
What’s more, Bezos appears to be using his cash and influence to back one of the hottest names in Hollywood to play the next Bond girl – Sweeney.
He’s reportedly been pushing for the 28-year-old to step into the role of 007’s love interest – and he is also said to have plunged some of his considerable fortune into her upcoming lingerie range.
While Meghan was absent from Jeff and Lauren’s wedding earlier this year, actress Sydney Sweeney was in attendance
Those rumours intensified after The White Lotus actress attended Bezos’s wedding to Lauren Sanchez in Venice in June.
Asked about the rumours in an interview with Variety in October, the entertainment industry’s business magazine, she appeared to be holding back.
‘I can’t,’ she said, before pausing for a few seconds. ‘I don’t know,’ she continued. ‘To be honest, I don’t know all the Bond rumours, but I’ve always been a huge fan of the franchise, and I’m excited and curious to see what they do with it. Depends on the script.’
The actress then added, perhaps only half in jest: ‘I think I’d have more fun as James Bond.’
A movie source said: ‘Sydney is the top name on the casting sheet for Bond. ‘Denis [Villeneuve] believes she is hugely talented, as well as having an alluring appeal to younger generations, vital in modernising the franchise.
‘They’ve hung out together a lot and he has admired her stratospheric rise. Plus, she has the quality of being athletic and able to perform physical scenes, as well as being feminine and following in the legacy of Bond Girls.’
Meanwhile, Bezos and his wife have apparently invested ‘seed money’ in a private equity business which will help Sweeney ‘launch a lingerie line very soon’.
‘This has been a huge project for her and something she’s been working on for the last year,’ a source told US Weekly.
The lingerie line is being backed by Ben Schwerin, a partner at private equity firm Coatue.
The company recently received a £770million investment from Bezos and fellow tech giant Michael Dell via their Coatue Innovation Fund.
But while Sweeney is busy getting the special treatment – Meghan was allegedly left fuming when the Amazon founder and his wife failed to add her and Harry to the guestlist for their three-day wedding celebrations in Venice.
While other Hollywood hotshots, including Sweeney and Kim Kardashian, flew to Italy to celebrate the nuptials earlier this year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were notably absent.
A source claimed they were snubbed off the list, allegedly leaving the Duchess ‘seething’.
The source told Radar, ‘It shows just how much she and Harry have drifted from Hollywood’s core social scene.’
‘She would have been disappointed not to have attended his wedding to Lauren Sanchez in Venice in June as Bezos and Sanchez had been reported to be friendly with the Sussexes,’ Fitzwilliams added.
Nevertheless, Kris Jenner’s birthday party on Saturday evening would have likely served as the perfect networking ground for Meghan and the Amazon CEO.
Lauren, a close friend of the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch, and her husband held the lavish bash at their sprawling Beverley Hills mansion.
And momager Kris, who is known for strategically managing most aspects of her children’s careers, might just have extended her expertise in helping Meghan by connecting her with the Bezos’s that one step further.
It comes after experts speculated that Meghan could be set to launch a Kardashian-style ‘mega brand’ after she was spotted cosying up to the British Dragon’s Den star who masterminded Kim Kardashian’s hugely popular Skims range.
Multi-millionaire Emma Grede, who is also the driving force behind Khloe Kardashian’s successful Good American jeans brand, has shared a flurry of posts featuring the Duchess of Sussex as the ‘star guest’ at her Los Angeles vegan banquet, which celebrated women ‘owning their power’ and helping ‘each other get s**t done’.
In her post, Ms Grede quipped: ‘Not my typical Wednesday after work’ before showing behind-the-scenes footage from the evening, with Meghan’s 2024 ‘As Ever’ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc flowing throughout the evening.
Previous Instagram posts by Ms Grede, who is currently enjoying a turn as a guest dragon on BBC’s Dragon’s Den, show Meghan carefully positioned to her right-hand side, the pair sharing a joke and then posing next to each other in ‘power outfits’.
She said: ‘This dinner series is about making that energy ours. About women coming together to share openly, trade resources, and help each other get s**t done.
‘Because when women choose to collaborate, to champion each other, and to speak honestly about the highs and the hard parts, we don’t just change our own stories. We change what’s possible for every woman who follows.
‘Here’s to more seats, more voices, and more women leading, building, and owning their power’.
As the world waits to see what the Duchess of Sussex’s rumoured new business venture will be, PR experts speculated that Ms Grede’s posts could be the biggest indication yet.
Rumours of a potential new venture for the Duchess spread last month after she posted two clips on Instagram showing her applying lipstick – with the brand names obscured.
It’s a ‘tell-tale sign’ she may be gearing up to promote her own range, industry sources said at the time.
One told The Mail on Sunday: ‘On her Instagram reel, the make-up lined up on her dressing table was unbranded or had the brand labels obscured, which felt deliberate.
‘That’s a tell-tale sign Meghan has something in the pipeline. The fact she didn’t want to promote or reveal any other brand is a big clue that she’s gearing up to promote her own range eventually – it is a sign for industry insiders.’
